Bitcoin falls nearly $2,000 in 20 minutes as $400 million in longs get liquidated

Bitcoin dropped nearly $2,000 in about 20 minutes, and roughly $400 million in leveraged long bets went up in smoke along the way. On October 6, 2026, Bitcoin slid more than 5% intraday. It fell from approximately $71,765 to $67,895, its lowest point since April of this year. The liquidation cascade, by the numbers According to Coinglass data, about $394 million in positions were liquidated within a single hour. Of that total, around $384 million came from long positions, meaning traders betting that prices would rise. Bitcoin traders absorbed the largest share of the damage, with about $209 million liquidated. Ethereum followed with roughly $87 million, while Solana saw around $27 million and XRP about $11 million. Zoom out to a 24-hour window and the figure grows considerably. Total liquidations across the market reached approximately $1.02 billion, again driven mostly by longs. In crypto derivatives, a liquidation occurs when a leveraged trader’s collateral can no longer cover their losses, and the exchange automatically closes the position by selling it into the market. Those forced sales push prices lower, lower prices trigger the next batch of liquidations, which push prices ...